We don’t have eastern bluebirds but have a lot of tree swallows so I start trapping English sparrows early before tree swallows return in the spring. I just ring their bell of the side of the garden shed when I catch them. Haven’t seen house sparrows in years. Tree swallows are doing great!

Great video!

Thanks for the info

Last year, we had the most territorial and aggressive House Sparrow that we have ever seen. He kept trying to build in one of our bluebird boxes and no matter how many times the nest was thrown out (which he would build up again in a day or two) he would not leave this box... and he never had a mate! It was one of the most frustrating things, because this went on for weeks. He would not go into the sparrow trap we put out, so he was finally eliminated with an air rifle.

Van Ert trap is an essential weapon February through September

@jameslomenzo1139

2 жыл бұрын

Got that right, I hate them little demons.

I have 2 Gilbertson bluebird boxes. A sparrow found one right after one set of bluebirds fledged. The sparrow will not leave this box and I’ve put up a trap boxes to catch that devil bird, no luck at all. I’ve caught my blues instead. Very frustrating! I’ve tried the spookers as well, didn’t phase that devil bird. I ended up taking that box down. Really wish those devil birds were NEVER introduced here😭

@shannonspage9360

Жыл бұрын

Take down the birdhouse and then put up trap boxes.

@mdawn74

Жыл бұрын

@@shannonspage9360 I did and caught the sparrow.

Novice blue birder here…those sparrows are pesky! Here’s how I had success: Requires 2 bluebird houses. Put the first one up and remove the sparrow nest daily. Let the sparrows and bluebird fight for 2 weeks while you keep removing the sparrow nests. After 2 weeks put up your 2nd bluebird house. Mine was about 40 feet away from 1st one. Bluebirds took to it immediately. Sparrows stayed focused on the first box. After 2-3 more weeks bluebirds had built their nest, laid 3 eggs and babies were quickly growing. BUT the pesky sparrow returned to 2nd house and aggressively defended it preventing bluebird feeding. So I tried the fishing line suggestion without success. Then tried a sparrow spooker made from a coat hanger and heavy duty strips of aluminum foil. Once I mounted the spooker I also removed the sparrow nest (including eggs 🥴) from 1st house. Sparrows refocused back to first house! Success!

If invasives do wind up laying eggs in your nestbox, violently shake the eggs to prevent them from developing. This failed batch will delay the invasive mother into laying another clutch of eggs. I did this for starlings and after they realized no incubation they left the nest. I think they associated failed clutch with the box. Haven't tried the Gilbert box or spooker but everything else I confirm, especially not using cheap seed with millet and corn... attracts nuisance birds which tend to be more aggressive than our native songbirds.

Lost a clutch of 5 bluebird eggs saw the mother go in one evening checked it a few days later and all eggs gone, no sign of a struggle like pieces of egg shell or feathers just empty. I had to be either a snake or a very delicate eating racoon.

Ive had a lot of HS in my area and last winter a year ago I eliminated 100's and I also used a nestbox trap for HS and caught about 20 in it . This yr Ive decided to try and eliminate all preferable seed of HS so that they will want to be elsewhere. I launched that same nest box trap this season and have only captured 1 HS so it must be working somewhat. Ive never had bluebirds here but want them. About a month ago I did put up a gilbertson nest box and have seen a couple HS check it out but did not use it at least not yet. So I still have hope that I will eventually get bluebirds here.

@jameslomenzo1139

2 жыл бұрын

Great, keep up the great work on these non-native invasive species that kill our songbirds.

@uhill74

2 жыл бұрын

Same. I am up to about 150 in a year. Still more work to go but a noticeable difference now. It is not an impossible task and if we could get a few people in the neighborhood helping out we could eliminate this devil bird for good.

@alan30189

Жыл бұрын

@@uhill74 I don’t think we’ll ever eliminate them, but we can knock their numbers down a little bit.

@uhill74

Жыл бұрын

@@alan30189 agreed. We can make it bearable for other cavity nesters. It is a shame there is no control done by townships the same way rats are controlled. And people just have no clue and continue to feed them with junk seed.

@gigic.7809

Ай бұрын

About 6 years after living in my current house I finally got bluebirds. The pellet g#n works great! Don't give up!

If you have house sparrows nesting close to a Bluebird nest with eggs, babies' never pull that house sparrow nest bcuz they will go on a rampage killing Bluebirds and babies thinking they did it. You should put in a Van Ert trap in the HS wooden house and catch them demons first. I pulled out a HS nest 1994 first year with Bluebirds just 50ft away and came home from work to see the eggs busted on the ground, I caught the male HS next morning and rung his neck. Bluebirds when on to nest that spring, summer.

@esta1ful

2 ай бұрын

It’s most important to monitor for sparrows and toss the materials on the ground. Also, be on the lookout for wasps nesting in there. They certainly keep the bb’s away.

@esta1ful

2 ай бұрын

It’s also hard for me to believe that an animal with a brain about the size of probably a lima bean would have enough thinking capacity to plan revenge against another bird species it just sort of boggles my mind.

Almost impossible task...thank goodness for the van ert trap

I know we need the sparrows but they always beat the blue birds out of the nest boxes and 2 has turned into 25 at the feeder. I'm pretty fed up with them right now.

@alan30189

Жыл бұрын

No, we don’t need to sparrows. House Sparrows are an invasive species in the United States and they outcompete native species for nesting sites. They need to be eliminated. That’s the only solution. If you see them, either trap them or shoot them. Get rid of them.

@shannonspage9360

Жыл бұрын

We don’t need the house sparrow they are an introduced invasive species in North America. This is why most departments of wildlife conservation encourages the elimination of breeding pairs and will provide instructions on how to do so.

@alan30189

Ай бұрын

As long as they are domestic sparrows. The ones that are causing a lot of the problems, are the European sparrows, which are an invasive species. European Starlings are also a problem for our domestic birds.

@alan30189

Ай бұрын

As long as they are domestic sparrows. The ones that are causing a lot of the problems, are the European sparrows, which are an invasive species. European Starlings are also a problem for our domestic birds.

@gigic.7809

Ай бұрын

We don't need THOSE sparrows !

Yikes...close up of poster way too close...kinda scary! But good advice.

HOSP serial killer is killing all the eggs around our house killed 3 of our bluebird eggs and then another type of egg not sure the species so upsetting!

@jameslomenzo1139

2 жыл бұрын

You will have to trap, shoot the HOSP they're a non-native invasive species are you will not have Bluebirds. Get a Van Ert trap $10 Google it, it will work. You can eliminate that HS and your bluebirds will come back.

@gigic.7809

Ай бұрын

Get a pellet G#n, it works and yes its legal.

How can you tell house sparrow nest from a bluebird nest? Materials?

@kirkbrode

2 жыл бұрын

Look up images on the internet. House sparrow nests are usually very messy compared to the neat & tidy bluebird nests. House sparrows tend to fill the cavity up with nesting material and then make a tunnel through it to the brood area.

@homevideos6128

Ай бұрын

Bluebird nests are very tidy and tea cup like.

Sparrows are very easy to deter without harming them. Simply drill a medium sized hole in top of birdhouse roof & with something that is semi-transparent. Its something about the light that deters other birds .I was having sparrows/other birds issues. After modifing my bluebird houses, no more problems over a four year period. Sometimes they will place a few twigs in house & then stop. Bluebird house modification plans: kzread.info/dash/bejne/iqyNps1-lZjHprA.html

Tip #6: Shoot the damn house sparrows! Starlings too. Tip #7: Use 10 to 20 pound monofilament fishing line, dangled off the front of the lid of your nest box. It will scare off the house sparrows. Weigh the lines down with fishing line weights or a small hex nuts. They’re a little bit too proud of those Gilbertson nest boxes. $43 for a bluebird house? You’ve got to be freaking kidding me! I’ll buy some pipe and make one myself.

@MsEk-sh6hn

Жыл бұрын

Is shooting the male house sparrows enough or also the females? I don't want the females to retaliate against the bluebirds

@esta1ful

2 ай бұрын

They are dang hard to hit. I have tried so hard but never hit a one. I also tried to hit mockingbirds (don’t tell on me: they are our state bird). 🦅 they are a bleeding nuisance especially during their breeding season whenever they see anything like a human or a cat they just attack and they make it really ugly hissing sound so they’re annoying

@alan30189

2 ай бұрын

@@esta1ful Northern mockingbird are native to the US. Don’t kill them. We need them to eat all the insects that all the extinct species of birds used to eat. Many birds have gone extinct partly because of roaming and feral cats. The bird isn’t going to hurt you, or a cat. I think I got attacked by one in a Kroger shopping plaza. I was walking along the sidewalk and one swooped down from behind me and grabbed my shoulder. I didn’t see what it was, but it may have been a Mockingbird, nesting in a nearby tree. Your cat doesn’t belong outdoors. Keep your cat indoors, where it belongs. Cats are not native to the United States and they kill too many of our songbirds and other native species of animals. A lot of them kill just for sport. They don’t even eat the damn thing. Pitiful.

@Joe-Skier

Ай бұрын

I've "removed" over 250 house sparrows in the past 8 months using a sparrow trap

@alan30189

Ай бұрын

@@Joe-Skier That’s great, Joe. Good job and keep it up.

I use a highly accurate. 22 cal pre-charged pneumatic air rifle on house sparrows and starlings. House sparrows are very aware when you target them! They are very smart! I used to trap but I was trapping chipping sparrows and other natives!

@stifflers69mom1

Жыл бұрын

You are so right ….they are crazy smart …..if you shot at one and miss …..your gonna have a hard time shooting at him again…..they know what your doing, you can’t shot them from the same spot you have to move …..lucky for me I have two sliding glass doors at my house so if I miss from one I get one more shot on the other end of the house ….you better not miss …but you are right they’re smart, they’ll surprise you

@MsEk-sh6hn

Жыл бұрын

Do you have to shoot the males and females? I read that males are the ones that build the nests. I don't want to have females retaliate against the bluebirds though

Disturbing comments.

@Bstnrose4444

Жыл бұрын

Ang.. if you saw what we saw would be pissed too. I watched the aggressive sparrow fight- take over- break and toss out 4 bluebird eggs. The fighting is awful. I will remove the mean male sparrow

Trapping & shooting house sparrows is many, many times more effective than any other method of control. All other methods are marginal at best. Detergent methods, if they were to work at all, just move the problem onto to some other unfortunate native cavity nesting bird family, so you aren't actually helping overall. And simply removing the nest without dispatching the sparrows is a good way to end up with dead bluebirds due to retaliation by the house sparrows. Stop wasting time and jeopardizing bluebirds by avoiding humanely dispatching house sparrows.

@MsEk-sh6hn

Жыл бұрын

Would shooting that males be enough or also the females?

Madness or stupidity......

ban bird feeders

I will never destroy a bird nest even if it is not my favorite one.

@gigic.7809

Ай бұрын

If you had a nest boxes with chickadees and bluebird and you came home from work and found them killed, you might think differently. There are millions of house sparrows and not very many bluebirds.

@raytoons

Ай бұрын

​@@gigic.7809Keep the nest boxes away from your windows, or you might find dead Bluebirds on the ground. Bluebirds can become aggressive during breeding season and often attack their reflections in mirrors and glass. Many end up getting killed this way.

You dont care much for sparrows huh?

How terrible! Advocating killing sparrows? Bragging about killing them? Disgusting.

@Texaslonestargal

2 жыл бұрын

This is an invasive species that attacks our bluebirds and other song birds that are beneficial for many reasons. They were introduced to the US from Europe in the mid 1800 and quickly set out to destroy. Nothing wrong with eliminating them to save our song birds.

@ChiChi-yg9ps

10 ай бұрын

They are very aggressive and invasive they kill native birds as well

@MyOuterSpacePlace

3 ай бұрын

To be clear, it's the aggressive non-native invasive House Sparrows, not all sparrows. These murdering little spauns of satan kill our native bluebirds and tree swallows and their young, just to take over their nest, and in many cases they don't even take over the nest. They just want to kill them. These evil house sparrows are not protected under federal law and the US Wildlife Service encourages trapping and dispatching of these non native invasive species.

@ashton5493

14 күн бұрын

They are in invasive species that are harmful to native wildlife.

My dad use to shoot house sparrows. It really upset me. All God’s creatures are good.

Gotta fix those wind pops